Spinosaurus is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived in what now is North Africa during the Cenomanian to upper Turonian stages of the Late Cretaceous period, about 100 to 93.5 million years ago. The genus was known first from Egyptian remains discovered in 1912 and described by German palaeontologist Ernst Stromer in 1915. The original remains were destroyed in World War II, but additional material came to light in the early 21st century. It is unclear whether one or two species are represented in the fossils reported in the scientific literature. The best known species is S. aegyptiacus from Egypt, although a potential second species, S. maroccanus, has been recovered from Morocco. The contemporary spinosaurid genus Sigilmassasaurus has also been synonymized by some authors with S. aegyptiacus, though other researchers propose it to be a distinct taxon. Another possible junior synonym is Oxalaia from the Alcântara Formation in Brazil.
Spinosaurus
Plate I in Stromer (1915) showing S. aegyptiacus holotype elements
Reconstructed replicas of the holotype vertebrae, National Geographic Museum, Washington, D. C.
Specimen MNBH EGA1 which may belong to Spinosaurus
Spinosauridae is a clade or family of tetanuran theropod dinosaurs comprising ten to seventeen known genera. Spinosaurid fossils have been recovered worldwide, including Africa, Europe, South America and Asia. Their remains have generally been attributed to the Early to Mid Cretaceous.
Spinosauridae
Elements of the holotype specimen of Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, as illustrated by Ernst Stromer in 1915
Closeup of the teeth of Suchomimus
Reconstructed foot bones of Spinosaurus; note the straight claws and enlarged hallux (first toe) touching the ground